On The Road in Alaska with Friends!

One of the reasons we traveled to Alaska this summer (besides leaving the heat of South Texas, viewing amazing scenery, eating the freshest seafood, and visiting with friends) was to attend Jeff's (Jim's nephew) wedding.
Upon arrival in Girdwood (just south of Anchorage) where Jeff had rented a gorgeous house for all of us...we find there is a bear in the tree over the hot tub.

Yup, that fuzzy butt is a black bear!

Did that stop me from getting warmed up?

Nope.

The day of the rehearsal..at a gold mine no less...Jim & Melinda & I went gold panning.
We practised on a little bag of dirt and gold the mine gave us and each found our few flakes...but not anything in the river.The day of the wedding was wet and cold and dreary, but charming!Wedding cup cakes!We were dressed in our finery, on the porch of the log cabin where the ceremony took place.

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After we left Girdwood we traveled south to Clam Gulch where we met the camp hosts.

Guess who?!

Les & Janet.

When we arrived Jim talked to this jolly bearded fellow asking where was Les....

didn't recognize him at all!

Don & Vanessa joined us for dinner.

We watched Don chop...

We watched Don cook...

I had a chowder lesson....

Then we feasted...

Clam chowder, fried clams, smoked salmon dip, vino, Trader Joe cheese (thanks Melinda!) Reindeer sausage, and a whole host of other goodies.....

Stay tuned for a tale of the buts...Halibut that is....

and don't miss the upcoming, "Clams, A Love Story", to be seen at a blog near you....

Health Check 2011...

Message from our own Dr. Bob....

I was contacted by HealthCheckUSA, the folks who do our lab tests for less,

and we are definitely on the books for January 2011.

The actual date is still to be determined, but remember folks,

you can get your annual blood tests done at SPR

(convenient)

and at a greatly reduced fee

(smart).

We will have a morning sometime in January for sure.

So anyone who was wondering if we were gonna do it this next year...

it is a positive "GO".

Patsy & Garland's Family Reunion

Garland and I spent a week in San Antonio with family.

My daughter, Paige, and her husband, Doug, came from Seattle with their sons, Emery (11) and Wilbur (7). My son, Chad, lives in S.A. with his girlfriend, Jena Evans. Swimming was a big hit with all of us, especially the Washingtonians (since it's been too cold up there for swimming). We all enjoyed the Alamo, the San Antonio Riverboat Tour, and the River Walk. Emery wants to stay at the Menger Hotel (where Teddy Roosevelt formed the Rough Riders)next time. He'll probably want to be Teddy for Halloween this year--he always picks a historical or literary figure. (Last year he was Genghis Khan.)

Garland took the boys to the Flea Market and let them pick a "bargain." Wilbur got a radio and Emery a model of the U.S.S. Constitution ("Old Ironsides"). This was the first time Paige and her family had been back to Texas in ten years! We all had a ball and hope that they don't wait another ten years to come back to Texas.

Road Stories...John & Mary

Another road story...

While working in Rawlins we met many RV’ers who had visited the Tetons. All of them complained of the lack of snow this year. While these mountains got their usual amount of winter snow they also got a lot of spring rains. Thus the lack of spring snow.

So Mary and I went looking for snow on our day off.

The Snowy Range Road, Hwy 130 from Laramie to the Upper Platte River Valley, was designated the Second National Forest Scenic Byway in the United States. Begun in 1920, it took 6 years to complete and was called the "Great Skyroad". This route is a popular recreation attraction with many picnic, camping, observation and interpretive facilities. The mountain ranges of Colorado can be seen from the Libby Flats Observation Point. The Krummholz vegetation associated with the alpine zone is located in this area, and a beautiful array of wildflowers can be seen from early June through July. Ryan Park Campground was the site of a WWII Prisoner of War camp. Medicine Bow Peak, at 12, 013 feet, the highest point on the Medicine Bow Forest, is immediately adjacent to the Byway. There are several hiking trails accessible from the Byway, including a trail up to Medicine Bow Peak. A trip along the Snowy Range Scenic Byway is a must when you visit southeastern Wyoming!

This highway is closed to traffic from November to the end of May. This year it reopened about the 10th of June due to this winter’s heavy snowfall

A picture of snow alongside the highway.

Medicine Bow mountain with lots of snow:

And finally native plants:

By the way all of these photos were done on July 13.

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BRRR!

Gals Luncheon

CALLING ALL GALS:

Great company, fabulous food, and the art district of McAllen.

All Ladies are welcome, come join the fun.

When July 22, Thursday

Meet: 10:30 at the pavilion.

We will carpool to our surprise destination.

Nancy is not even letting this writer (Karen H.) in on the surprise!!!!!

We will carpool and Nancy will have maps to our mystery destination

RSVP Nancy at 949-375-6805 or in person at lot 220,

maybe you can get her to tell you her secret:)

Nancy 220

Summer Travels...Pam & Bob

OK, Sue, you’re right—we peeps will do anything for a prize! When I read about your travel story prize, I was determined to make a contribution. It’s taken me a while to turn that into reality, but here are some pictures from a May trip Bob and I took to Stone Mountain, GA (near Atlanta) an RV rally. The Atlanta Botanical Garden was fabulous!
It even had some Dale Chihuly glass sculptures
As well as glass created by an unknown sculptor.
The Coke museum wasn’t a highlight.
Neither was CNN.
The High Museum of Art was.

Pam

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Thanks Pam! And congrats on winning the AANR election.

And Peeps, send me your travel stories and/or pictures and you too will have a chance in the super duper Summer 2010 Travel Story Contest!

(Oh, Jon & Karen...by the way...I need a prize!)

Hurricane Alex Pic from Bob W.

Here is a rare sunset view over "Lake Sandpipers."

Even more rare because Jay got the pumps going the next day! +++++++++++++

Beautiful, Bob!

Now we have lake front property...at least until the pumps did their job.

Hey, Karen, idea!...If we had a permanent

lake in the middle of the field think of the advertising...lake front lots for sale!